Everyone knows it: the feeling something is off, yet you can’t quite place why or where it’s coming from. Intuition is one of the greatest defenses we have access to.

Women at UCLA must listen to that voice and honor it.

If a situation feels dangerous, get out of it. You can evaluate it later. Don’t worry about being hysterical – trust that your mind is reacting appropriately. It often is.

Even at UCLA, we must stay vigilant. A man allegedly attempted to kidnap two UCLA students in March. Following his arrest, he was also tied to an alleged rape from October.

[Related: Santa Monica man arrested twice by UCPD for alleged kidnapping, rape]

Fear of a situation is a form of intuition. It is our unconscious mind warning us of danger before our conscious mind can process it.

In “The Gift of Fear,” author Gavin de Becker argues our intuition is always right in two ways: it is responding to a situation and is always well-intentioned.

Fear is an uncomfortable response to impending danger that has proved vital throughout human evolution.

“We always think of fear as being something bad,” said Michael Fanselow, a distinguished research professor in the psychology department. “Of course, it’s something we’d rather not experience, but it’s really essential to our functioning.”

Society conditions women to ignore their fear, though, often overlooking their intuition and inner guardian. Women can ignore the warning signs of intuition because they’ve been trained to.

“We live in an over-intellectualized society where women aren’t taught to trust their gut over their head,” said Dr. Judith Orloff, a psychiatry clinical faculty member and author, in an emailed statement.

There is a gendered socialization from childhood, teaching young girls they must be polite, approachable and friendly. Society encourages women to prioritize others’ comfort over their own personal safety.

Women internalize these expectations, fearing misogynistic perceptions such as “bossy,” “uptight” or “prude.” However, these labels are harmful to our innate defenses against violence.

Women should be empowered to respond and act with their own comfort and safety in mind, using their intuition as a survival tool and ignoring the cultural and societal expectations that are taught.

Evelyn Wang, a third-year economics student, said most of the time, she tries to follow her gut feeling about situations.

“Intuition is a woman’s best friend. Do not write it off,” Orloff, a UCLA alum, added in her emailed statement.

Some would say fears can be irrational. While that is sometimes true, there isn’t time to evaluate and delay your response as danger nears.

Perpetrators of violence use techniques designed to get victims to ignore their inner voices, making them feel foolish if they express legitimate concerns.

Students must also support and validate their friends when they get a bad feeling about a situation. Intuition not only protects oneself but also others.

UCLA community members must bring awareness to the victimization of women and the cultural implications of the politeness expected from us.

Between pepper spray, rape alarms and whistles, the most effective self-defense tool remains one we were born with: fear.